


A Reason to Stay

by Perfect_Insanity



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Attraction, Ezekiel fluff, F/M, the walking dead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 19:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15055928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perfect_Insanity/pseuds/Perfect_Insanity
Summary: You stumble upon a new community while searching for your missing friends, Carol and Morgan. But as you're getting ready to leave, you discover someone doesn't want you to go.





	A Reason to Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Could I please request a scenario in which the reader (shortly after the deaths of Glenn and Abe), attempts to locate Carol and Morgan. Eventually they stumble upon Kingdom Knights, who reunite her with mentioned (where reader updates them on group situation). + Mutual attraction between reader & Ezekiel. Sorry for the complicated-ness. 

It must’ve been a nightmare. It had to have been. The sound of the wooden bat crashing against your friend’s skull, the smell of blood thick in the air, the bits of flesh that hung off the barbed wire after all was said and done, the cries from your other friends trapped in the horror as much as you were. You hadn’t just watched Abraham and Glenn get beaten into the dirt, had you? You kept closing your eyes during the ordeal, praying that you’d open your eyes and be back in your own bed and they’d be downstairs to greet you along with the rest of the group.

But it was just too much to hope for because every time you opened your eyes, you were still here. After it was over and Negan left with his men (and with Daryl as his prisoner) Sasha took Maggie and the bodies of Glenn and Abraham while the rest of you headed back to Alexandria. On top of all this, Carol was still missing and Morgan had gone missing looking for her. No one had really thought to go after them with everything happening now but you definitely needed a distraction.

“Y/N, are you sure this is a good idea?” Rick asked, watching you with worry as you packed some supplies for the trip, “He might notice you’re gone when he shows up here.”

“Doubt it,” you replied, “Too many people here for him to notice one person missing. And if he does, you can just tell him I went out on a run. But I’ve gotta find Carol and Morgan. Who knows where they’ve ended up and I’ve gotta get the hell outta here.”

“Negan might’ve taken them,” Rick argued, “Haven’t you ever considered that?”

“Well, I won’t know unless I go find out,” you shot back, “If I find them, I’ll come back here and let you know. I don’t think I wanna throw them into this mess. At least not right now. The farther they are from the situation right now, the better. I wish I could be away from this too.”

“I know,” Rick mumbled, reaching out and touching your shoulder, “Just be careful, okay? Negan’s people are probably gonna be hanging around here a lot more now. Not to mention the walkers.”

You nodded, “I’ll be safe. If I run into trouble, I’ll just turn back, try another day. But I should be alright.”

Rick showed you on a map where he and Morgan had gone together and where they’d split off. You had a general idea of where Morgan would’ve gone but there was still a large area to cover. But being away from Alexandria allowed you to momentarily forget what was now happening. You just wished that things could go back to the way they used to be when the only threat they had to deal with were walkers. 

You reached an alley where you found a man’s corpse being devoured by walkers. You quickly stabbed the walkers in their temples while they were distracted by their meal, tossing them aside to get a look at the man. He had a gun in his hand with the same symbol that had been on another gun the group had back in Alexandria. This man had been a part of the saviors. A dirty, brown jacket with one sleeve tattered and burnt had been left behind with a bloody hole in the sleeve. Wasn’t this Carol’s jacket? Carol must’ve been here and must’ve killed this man, most likely in a scuffle. 

Carol was close by, she had to be. And Morgan might be with her. You continued on, walking a little faster. This mission had merely been an excuse to get away from the madness for a little while. You still made use of your time and searched for Carol and Morgan like you said you would but you never actually expected to find any traces of them. But in any case, you were happy that there was.

After another few minutes of walking, crossing through an abandoned street full of shops that had been drained of resources and left to rot with the rest of the world. At the very end of the street was a large fence guarded by two people standing on top of the fence and two people standing in front of the gate, much like the set-up back home.

“Stop right there!” one of the guards shouted. They all raised their guns at you, glaring at you, “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I’m Y/N,” you replied, tucking your gun back into its holster and raising your hands, “I was just looking for my friends and I came across this place. Maybe they came here. Carol and Morgan, did they come here?”

The expression on all four of their faces softened as they lowered their weapons, “Yes, yes they did come here. Carol was injured and they were found and taken here. Come inside, you should meet with the king.”

“Carol’s hurt?” you said as you hurried towards the gate. It creaked open and you paused mid-step. It brought back memories of the governor and anyone who gave them titles like that couldn’t be trusted, “Wait, did you say king? Is this like the medieval times or something?”

This “kingdom” was like any other community, very similar to Alexandria. Everyone looked well fed, clean, and happy. There were children being given lessons in a gazebo while others were training in archery and cooking and cleaning. Everything seemed so serene here but then again, so had Woodbury, so had Terminus. You weren’t going to trust this king that easily, especially if Carol and Morgan were here.

You were led into an auditorium and left alone with a man sitting in a throne on a lit up stage with a few others standing behind him. He was lounging comfortably, one knee bent on the throne, his arm resting on his knee. But it was the massive tiger he had on a chain lying next to him that shocked you.

“A fucking tiger,” you whispered. The man in the throne was intriguing however. Seeing him sit so casually made you feel more at ease and his brown eyes were warm. He smiled and beckoned you closer to the stage. You took a step forward but then the tiger lifted its head and you stopped again, “Uh, I think I’d be better off here.”

“Shiva?” the man said, “She won’t bite. Come closer. I’ve been told that you are looking for your friends.”

“Yes,” you said. You cautiously walked down the aisle, stopping at the first row of seats, “Carol. And Morgan. Someone told me that she was injured. Is she okay? And Morgan, is he okay too?”

“They’re both doing well,” he said, “Carol’s recovering and Morgan has come to enjoy it here. He’s been training Benjamin here for the past few days. My name is King Ezekiel, what is your name?”

Ezekiel had a flair for the dramatic that’s for sure. But it was somewhat calming. He seemed nice enough. You smiled as you replied, “My name is Y/N.”

“Y/N,” Ezekiel mumbled with a grin, “Welcome to the kingdom.”

Soon after meeting Ezekiel, Benjamin took you outside where Morgan was most likely training with his staff. Benjamin smiled proudly when he saw Morgan and he called out to him, “Morgan! You have a visitor! She says she’s your friend.”

Morgan turned and he gasped at the sight of you, “Y/N. How’d you know where we were?”

You reached out and hugged him for a moment, “Rick told me where the two of you split off and I just kinda followed the trail until I ended up here. I never actually thought I’d find you and Carol. How is she?”

“She’s doing better,” Morgan replied, “She left this morning, gonna separate herself from everything for a while.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” you murmured, “Although…it would probably be the smartest thing to do right now.”

“Why’s that?” Morgan asked.

“We should talk somewhere more private,” you said. Morgan was nervous now, knowing this couldn’t be good. The two of you sat down together on a park bench, Morgan leaning his staff against it. You rubbed your sweaty palms up and down your thighs, taking a deep breath, “There’s no real easy way to say this. We ran into this group, the saviors. And um, the leader, Negan…he…he killed two of ours. He killed um…Glenn and-and Abraham.”

“Oh my god,” Morgan mumbled, hanging his head, “I can’t believe that.”

“Now it’s like Negan owns us,” you continued, “I had to get away for a little while so I decided to go looking for you and Carol. I guess now that I have, I should get back home and let Rick know that you’re here.”

“You don’t have to go right away,” Morgan said, “You should stay for at least another day or two, then go back. You wanted to get away, didn’t you?”

You turned to look at the children leaving the gazebos, your eyes wandering up to see Ezekiel standing on the balcony watching the two of you. It might not be a bad idea to stick around for a few days. You had to admit that you were curious about Ezekiel. He seemed so open but there was a mystery surrounding him too.

Morgan and Benjamin helped set you up in your room for the next few days. The quiet would be nice. It would allow you to actually process what had happened, what you’d seen. It felt like no one had been given a chance to do that. You all just went back home and had to prepare for the next time Negan would inevitably visit. If you were lucky, you would still be here in the kingdom when he went to see the others in Alexandria. 

You went back outside after everyone had already gone to sleep, sitting at the same park bench you and Morgan had just been sitting at earlier that afternoon. You weren’t sure what you wanted to do. Cry, scream, throw a fit, or just sleep. All you could do for now was just sit there in silence, staring at the balcony where Ezekiel had been standing. You kind of hoped he would come out just so you’d have someone to talk to.

“You’re out late tonight aren’t you?” The sudden break in silence startled you and you jumped, a gasp escaping your lips. You whipped around in your seat to find Ezekiel standing there. He chuckled as he approached the bench, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s alright,” you said, “Guess I’m not the only night owl around here. You can sit down if you want.”

Ezekiel nodded and took a seat beside you, sitting as close as he could to the edge, leaving some space between you, “So, you’re from Alexandria too. You and Morgan and Carol must be close friends if you came all that way to find them.”

You shrugged, “I mean, they’re my family just like the others back in Alexandria but I’ve gotta be honest, I just needed some time away. I’ll probably head back in the next day or two.”

“Or you could just stay here in the kingdom with me…us,” Ezekiel said, quick to cover himself, “You said you need some time away from everything, right? This is the perfect place to get away from everything.”

“Guess you’ve got a point,” you said, “Maybe…staying here with you wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

“Maybe tomorrow, I could show you around,” Ezekiel said, “Give you the grand tour of the kingdom.”

“I’d like that,” you mumbled, “King Ezekiel.”

Ezekiel smiled, scooting a little closer to you. He reached out and touched your shoulder and it was electric. You could feel it in his touch and you could tell he felt it too when he tightened his grip on your shoulder slightly, his brown eyes widening just a bit. There was a connection there to be explored. Maybe you were wrong, maybe you were just in need of human contact after everything that had happened. Or maybe you had the chance to have something good in the midst of all this mess. Ezekiel was kind, something that you weren’t used to these days. 

“I…I should get to my room,” you said, though neither of you moved, “I can’t wait for that tour tomorrow, Ezekiel.”

“Right,” he said, giving your shoulder one last squeeze before standing up. He took your hand and helped you up onto your feet, “You get your rest, Y/N. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” you said, squeezing his hand, “I’ll see you.”

Ezekiel gave you a nod and he walked away, leaving you with even more to think about. At least this was something that lifted your spirits rather than dragged you down. At least you had a reason to stay. You had to know if this was something that you wanted to pursue, that would be worth something.

You would find out tomorrow, wouldn’t you?

**Author's Note:**

> Just a reminder that I'm basically transferring all the one shots I wrote on Tumblr to this website. So, these were all written months ago. If anyone wanted me to write sequels or add more parts to one shots that already have sequels, just let me know :)


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